Welcome to the Guardians CCG Page

This is a site dedicated to the Guardians collectible card game released by FPG in the mid '90s. This was a great game featuring beautiful artwork and a complex battle system. The game is now out of print and some cards are extremely difficult to find.

Here you will find alternate rules and game mods (including solo play), homebrew cards, and links to other Guardians sites.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

I have to re-do the hi res sheets available for download. I don't know what I was thinking. I was putting 3 copies of a card per sheet, when it should be 1 copy of a card per sheet. Not everyone needs the expense of printing 3 copies of each card. It should allow you to print 1 of each card, and then people can print out as many copies as they desire. My apologies if you've downloaded all the sheets so far, I'll be deleting them and reworking the new ones starting later on today.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

I've started creating and uploading hi res images of Planar Conflict cards on to Google Drive. I decided to go with a 2 by 4 layout...the main reason for this is that using an even number in each direction means I can make the margins an equal number from the edge of the page, which helps to align the front and back of cards. For example, the left and right margins are exactly .75 inches from the edge of the page. This would not be possible with a 3 by 3 layout, because the total width of the cards would be an odd number.

I also butted the cards up against each other. Even though this is more challenging to cut evenly, I've eliminated most of the white edges you get under the old layout, which separated the cards from each other and created more white edges. I also made the cards just a little bit larger than normal, as you will lose some material when cutting.

The images are once again in PDF format. Ignore the low res preview through Google - when you download you will get the full resolution. Here is the link to the shared folder for the images:

As I finish more sheets I will add them to the folder, so check back regularly. I'll also create a back side sheet for each front side. When all the images have been uploaded, I'll put a link over in the sidebar. Please let me know if you have any problems with the images or the link. Enjoy!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Astute reader Talis Cat noted that the draw number on the back of Abbaddon was incorrect, it should be 1 instead of 3, based on the text on the front side of the card. While I was examining the text on the back side of the card, I noticed it was also incorrect. Initially I had enabled the Infernals to move around, but this changed in the final revision of the rules. So instead of having Abbaddon able to move 3 spaces, I gave it the ability to move 3 Shields 1 extra space for 1 turn. This means flyers like Pit Fiend have the potential to move 3 spaces in 1 turn. Here is the updated version of the card:

Look for hi res versions of the Planar Conflict cards to be posted starting next week. At that time I will provide a link to the folder in Google Drive where they can be found.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

I know it's been some time since I was last heard from. I've been playtesting the new Planar Conflict rules and typing them up as time allowed. I'll be providing a link to the updated rules in the Links section of the sidebar. For now, here is the link to the document on Google Drive:

The rules aren't totally complete, as I haven't finished the last two sections on cooperative strategies and variants, but the core game is there. Hopefully it ends up being fun and playable for all.

I'll try to get working on high-res scans so that you can create really nice proxy cards. After that I need to break for a little bit, this was a lot of time and work to create. Hopefully I'll come back recharged for the next project...

UPDATE:

For whatever reason, the game layouts I created did not survive the transfer from my PC to Google Drive. I will instead create a PDF and upload it in place of the Word document. When that happens, I'll let you know and update the link above.

UPDATE #2:

The link has now been redirected to a PDF file that has the proper game layouts in the Appendices. I'll also add the link in the sidebar soon.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Just wanted to let you know I'm still playtesting the Planar Conflict rules. I found some early issues with the setup of opposing Strongholds...there weren't enough of them, which caused bottlenecks and stalled the flow of movement (and thus stalled the game). I've added more Strongholds, but that made them easily vulnerable to player Shields, which quickly reduced them to rubble since they were unguarded. I had to decide whether to give the Infernals a larger opening draw (to allow more Vassals to be drawn and thus placed on Strongholds as defenders), or to start the game with Vassals already on the Strongholds.

I also found there weren't enough Shields and Planar cards in the deck, so these were increased. And I found that it was worthless to have Infernals move out from behind their Strongholds, as creatures and Guardians could swarm them and easily take them down.

Finally, many creatures have abilities tied to primary attacks, border color, etc. and these become useless with Vassals not having borders and having only 1 Vassal under a Shield. I considered cutting down Vassal Vitalities to allow for multiple Vassals under a Shield. While this is not an issue when a player is running the Infernal, trying to automate the placement of creatures under Shields for a solo game or multi-player (without someone playing the Infernal) is problematic. It has me a little frustrated. These details, which seemed small at first but have grown into big obstacles) are what I'm currently trying to work out, while preserving as much of the main game as possible. There are some real advantages to having other members of a design team to bounce ideas off of...unfortunately I don't have that luxury...

Friday, May 10, 2013

During playtesting I've found that some cards need to be revised. This is especially true of cards created early on in the process. Either the wording is vague, the timing is unclear, or the card is just plain broken.

I took some time to re-do each Planar card's text. I also improved the look graphically - I've created black fades around the text to make it easier to read, removed the upcard number (since the Infernal decks don't use them), and added a few more tricks I've recently discovered in Photoshop. So here are the revised (and hopefully final) versions of the Planar cards:

Saturday, April 27, 2013

I ran into a bit of a problem while working on card backs for the Infernal decks. Basically it boils down to this: Vassals need to stay face down until they are revealed during combat. As a creature, Vassals are single bordered on the back, but so are Shields and Terrain; in addition, flying Shields must reveal their contents. So how could I design the card backs to reveal some cards but not others?

I did a small reworking of the single bordered card backs and here's what I came up with as my final solution...

Monday, April 22, 2013

I've revised each Infernal so that they have both a frontside ability and a backside ability. You can tell the front of the card from the text, which says "Flip". The frontside ability is activated by flipping the card; the backside ability is either automatic or requires a decision on when to use it. Some stats also change during the flip. Note that these could still change based on playtesting results...

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Here are the last cards in the set, the 6 Control Cards, for a final total of 75. I still have to finish revising each Infernal - they are a little different from their original conception - then I just need to finish the backs of the cards, do a little playtesting, and re-write and finalize the rules. Here are the Control Cards for each Infernal:

Wow, so I've really messed things up by forgetting the 2 Relic cards. I had to re-work some of the cards based on artwork and ideas I came up with last night and today. Here's a list of the changes, everything should be complete now:

Orb of Frost had its name changed to Orb of Conveyance. You can find it here.

Book of the Dead has been changed to Book of Vile Thoughts, and has been re-assigned from Z'Grall to Kru'chek. The text of the card is also completely different. You can find it here.

The second Relic for Abbaddon is complete. It will be Planar Card #68.

A new second Relic for Z'Grall (to replace Book of the Dead) is also complete. It will be Planar Card #69.

The Danuu Mreeshi Control Card post will be moved, and the card # will change from 68 to 70.

Sorry for the confusion. Developing this set is a living thing and is constantly changing. However, once the last 2 Relic cards are posted, only 5 Control Cards remain to finish the set. The end is in sight!

I would have loved to have that Tweezle the Sneaky, but the price was a little rich for me. I've also been in contact with Dave Genzler, the original Tweezle, about doing an interview. Hopefully he'll agree and drop some Guardians knowledge on us.

Currently on eBay I have several sealed boxes of Starter decks for sale. Normally I try to avoid any self-promotion here, but money's a little tight right now and I'm hoping some of you could use some starter decks. The link is here:

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Looks like I got a little ahead of myself...in addition to the Control Cards and card backs, I still need to develop 2 more Relics. Also, each Infernal has been significantly modified, so I need to redo those 6 cards as well. The total number of unique cards in the Planar Conflict expansion is now firmly set at 75...

Here is the first of the three Event cards for Planar Conflict. Every deck contains one of each Event card. The wording choice in the text is very specific, because I will be revealing a very exciting and fun variant for this set! Here is the first Event card:

Sunday, April 14, 2013

I originally wasn't going to include Shields as part of the Planar decks. While looking for artwork, however, I stumbled across a great-looking Shield, and then a search turned up even more options. Soon I was developing Shield sets for each deck...Shields are an integral part of the game - why not use them? This of course changes deck construction...with the removal of Trials and the addition of Events, decks should now look like this:

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

All the Vassals for Planar Conflict are finished. Here's what's remaining for development:

4 Relics
6 Control cards
24 Trials

I'm seriously considering abandoning the Trial cards which I think would fit better with an adventure/board game-style variant I've been developing for the past couple of years. Instead, I'd replace them with 4 Event cards that would be the same for each deck. That means I would only need to develop 4 cards instead of 24, but it would leave the deck size the same at 45 cards/deck. Having Event cards pays homage to C.J.'s contribution to Guardians, which is important to me. That also means I could wrap this project up much more quickly, and move on to completing the rules (including non-cooperative and solo variants), and providing examples of game play.

I've got a little time to think it over, as the remaining Relic cards probably won't be completed until the weekend. The Control cards will be the last cards developed, and will be mainly text (minimal artwork), similar to the Turn Summary cards from the original game. Oh, I almost forgot - I need to work on the backsides of the cards as well!